How a wool 'eating' pigment won Australia's richest fashion prize

Models wearing designs by Edward Crutchley, who won the menswear and innovation prizes at the International Woolmark Prize.

The International Woolmark Prize is all about promoting one of Australia's largest exports, as well as top emerging fashion design talent. But in the end, it was a protein that "eats" the fibre that helped win Edward Crutchley the top honour.

On Saturday night, London time, Crutchley, who works at Dior and previously Louis Vuitton, won the Woolmark Prize menswear and innovation categories, with a series of pieces that incorporated a protein-eating pigment that created an effect in the fabric that looks as though it has been attacked by a hoard of hungry moths.

"If there is one time to really push what's possible with merino, the Woolmark Prize is it," he said.

Crutchley's 100 per cent wool entry was inspired by the traditional prints from countries including Indonesian batik, French lace and a tie-dye he called "Aussie surfer grunge".

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After winning the prizes, totalling $300,000, Crutchley, who was raised on a sheep farm in the Yorkshire Dales in northern England, said he was grateful to Dior Homme creative director Kim Jones, who attended the event, for granting him the leeway to work on his own range alongside his work at the Paris house.

"I want this to make a real difference. I want to take time to process how I want to make that happen," he said.

The womenswear prize went to husband-and-wife team Nicole and Michael Colovos, who are based in the United States. New Zealand-born Ms Colovos spent more than 10 years living and working in Sydney and her parents are still based in Australia.

Mr Colovos said it was hard to strike a balance between creativity and commercialism. "We walk that line, it really is difficult," he said. "We're competing against throwaway fast fashion and we're making clothes that you can wear everyday."

The couple, who have three children, will use their prizemoney to expand their e-commerce business, and possibly look at branching out into womenswear.

The 12 finalists included one Australian entry, Albus Lumen, as well as US celebrity designer Brandon Maxwell, who has dressed the likes of Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Sussex.

The judges included Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie and designer Alber Elbaz, the former creative director of Lanvin.

Elbaz said he was interested in understanding the designers' rationale for their collections.

"Designers always have this reputation for being divas. We are not difficult, we are just a little bit like kids," he said. "I wish for the designers to not work in a vacuum ... but to have a big brother or sister to act as a mentor."

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Woolmark chief executive Stuart McCullough said the prize, which costs several million dollars to promote and run each year, returns to wool growers by helping to raise the price per kilogram, which has increased threefold in the past nine years.

"As soon as the price went up [mass retailers] don't have the elasticity in their pricing structures ... you can only do that at the pinnacle of the fashion triangle. This is where we're playing."